David Patterson

17 reviews
Tough grader Get ready to read Lots of homework Caring Participation matters Amazing lectures Accessible outside class Gives good feedback Inspirational Respected Lecture heavy Test heavy Hilarious
Past quarters
PHYS 13CL
0 / 13 Enrolled
Honors Experimental Physics
David Patterson 2.8
W
14:00 PM - 14:50 PM
78.6% A
PHYS CS 15C
0 / 24 Enrolled
Experimental Physics
David Patterson 2.8
W
14:00 PM - 14:50 PM
100.0% A
See All
PHYSICS115B . 2 Months Ago

Fun lectures, seems like a professor who cares; go to his office hours early and he explains stuff really well if you show up!

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PHYS115B . 11 Months Ago

Professor Patterson is passionate and caring, but he doesn't explain concepts well and the examples are confusing. I usually get lost easily during lectures and need to read textbooks to catch up.

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PHYS115B . 4 Years Ago

Although his lecture is somehow disorganized and kind confusing. He gives extremely useful practice test and you can really learn something from them. And remember do them carefully before the test. You will be thankful. Also, unlike other Professors, Patterson doesn't really focus on math, so don't worry about calculation . Understand concepts.

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PHYS115A . 5 Years Ago

Very intuitive lectures for quantum mechanics, with hard homework and section problems that did prepare me for exams. TA were great as well!

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PHYS115A . 5 Years Ago

Patterson is one of the best professors in the physics department. Although the homework is pretty difficult and long, he makes office hours accessible for anyone (so many TAs). Great guy and tries to make QM understandable, you can tell he really loves the subject. Make sure to understand all the homework and you'll be fine on the exams.

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115A . 5 Years Ago

My favorite prof at UCSB. Go to office hours.

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PHYS128AL . 6 Years Ago

Dave Patterson may not be the best professor for theory classes but he is a fantastic experimentalist and the best lab professor you could possibly have. He has an incredibly strong understanding of experimental methods and error analysis and it is clear he loves the subject. He is easy to talk to and it has been a delight to be in his lab class.

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PHYSICS115B . 6 Years Ago

Dave is a wonderful man, a brilliant physicist, and an inspiring professor. I took him spring '19 for Quantum Mechanics. He makes something as abstract as QM more accessible with wondrous analogies. He has a passion for his work, and cares about your understanding. Make an effort to discuss with him in office hours if you don't understand. 10/10

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PHYSICS25 . 7 Years Ago

Patterson is a young professor, and 25 was the second class he ever taught in UCSB. Lectures were not great, in fact they were very confusing. Theres a lot of room for improvement, but looking on the bright side, he was very caring and helpful during outside of class and had a fair midterm, not too hard final and a decent curve.

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PHYSICS25 . 7 Years Ago

He seems to have a strong knowledge of physics, but he is not a straightforward and put-together lecturer. His tests often involve things that were never covered in lecture or in the textbook. He is pretty good at answering questions, and he does try to explain best he can, but he says to refer to Feynman. You will have to learn a lot on your own.

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PHYS25 . 7 Years Ago

Awful professor. His lectures are hard to follow and frequently make no sense. Halfway through the quarter he made attendance mandatory, but only mentioned it in lecture. His tests involve problems that he did not mention in lecture and that are not contained in the textbooks. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

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PHYS25 . 7 Years Ago

Just useless lectures. His explanations made no sense and were wrong very often, and our TA had to then re explain these concepts to us correctly. Probably the worst professor I've ever had.

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